Home › Foundations by state › Washington
Foundations that fund nonprofits in Washington
In the IRS filings in CivicVane's data (tax years 2021–2025), 6,813 grantmakers listed 68,842 grants totaling $20.8 billion to 17,828 organizations in Washington. 6,229 of them are private foundations reporting on Form 990-PF and 584 are grantmaking public charities, such as community foundations, reporting on Form 990 Schedule I. 1,183 are based in Washington; the rest give in from other states.
The median grant to a Washington organization was $9,000. King County received the most grants (33,012, from 4,032 funders), followed by Pierce County (5,306) and Spokane County (3,343). Matching grant purposes and recipient names to cause areas, the most common were education & literacy (8,490 grants), children & youth (6,713 grants) and health & mental health (4,647 grants).
Seattle Foundation (Seattle, WA) funded the most different Washington organizations: 952, through 3,904 grants with a typical size of $5,000.
The 15 grantmakers that funded the most Washington organizations
Ranked by the number of different Washington organizations each funded in its filings for tax years 2021–2025. Typical grant = median of those grants. Donor-advised fund sponsors, workplace-giving and matching-gift programs are left out.
| # | Funder | Grants to WA organizations | Organizations funded | Typical grant | Most recent tax year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seattle Foundation Seattle, WA · EIN 91-6013536 | 3,904 | 952 | $5,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990 Schedule I |
| 2 | The Norcliffe Foundation Seattle, WA · EIN 91-6029352 | 1,381 | 936 | $15,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 3 | Scholar Fund Seattle, WA · EIN 81-3153433 | 533 | 526 | $23,320 | 2023 | IRS Form 990 Schedule I |
| 4 | Puget Sound Energy Foundation Wilmington, DE · EIN 20-4863534 Gives only to preselected organizations, per its 990-PF | 865 | 502 | $500 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 5 | Medina Foundation Seattle, WA · EIN 91-0745225 Gives only to preselected organizations, per its 990-PF | 858 | 365 | $20,000 | 2025 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 6 | M J Murdock Charitable Trust Vancouver, WA · EIN 23-7456468 | 518 | 347 | $78,750 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 7 | Innovia Foundation Spokane, WA · EIN 91-0941053 | 476 | 333 | $15,514 | 2024 | IRS Form 990 Schedule I |
| 8 | Northwest Harvest Emm Seattle, WA · EIN 91-0826037 | 520 | 291 | $44,174 | 2024 | IRS Form 990 Schedule I |
| 9 | Lucky Seven Foundation Wilmington, DE · EIN 91-1722000 | 458 | 262 | $5,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 10 | Enterprise Holdings Foundation Saint Louis, MO · EIN 43-1262762 | 417 | 249 | $2,000 | 2023 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 11 | Inatai Foundation Seattle, WA · EIN 30-0889914 | 239 | 239 | $225,000 | 2024 | IRS Form 990 Schedule I |
| 12 | Shell USA Company Foundation Houston, TX · EIN 13-6066583 Gives only to preselected organizations, per its 990-PF | 485 | 235 | $600 | 2024 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 13 | Moccasin Lake Foundation Wilmington, DE · EIN 91-1545081 | 317 | 235 | $10,000 | 2025 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 14 | The Bamford Foundation Tacoma, WA · EIN 91-1504193 | 383 | 231 | $7,500 | 2025 | IRS Form 990-PF |
| 15 | United Way of King County Seattle, WA · EIN 91-0565555 | 298 | 220 | $56,250 | 2024 | IRS Form 990 Schedule I |
Counties with the most grants
| County | Grants | Funders | Total listed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| King County | 33,012 | 4,032 | $18.7 billion | Top 5 funders |
| Pierce County | 5,306 | 742 | $203.3 million | Top 5 funders |
| Spokane County | 3,343 | 637 | $145.2 million | Top 5 funders |
| Snohomish County | 2,443 | 615 | $79.9 million | Top 5 funders |
| Kitsap County | 1,784 | 428 | $55.2 million | Top 5 funders |
| Whatcom County | 1,662 | 434 | $66.6 million | Top 5 funders |
| Clark County | 1,556 | 481 | $87.4 million | Top 5 funders |
| San Juan County | 1,227 | 218 | $31.0 million | Top 5 funders |
| Skagit County | 1,194 | 303 | $25.5 million | Top 5 funders |
| Thurston County | 1,010 | 346 | $43.6 million | Top 5 funders |
County = where the recipient's ZIP code is.
Cause areas
Grants whose purpose or recipient name, as filed, contains keywords for each cause area. A grant can match more than one, and many grants (such as "general support") match none.
| Cause area | Grants matched | |
|---|---|---|
| Education & literacy | 8,490 | Top 5 funders |
| Children & youth | 6,713 | Top 5 funders |
| Health & mental health | 4,647 | Top 5 funders |
| Food & hunger | 3,891 | Top 5 funders |
| Arts & culture | 3,690 | Top 5 funders |
| Environment & conservation | 3,102 | Top 5 funders |
| Housing & homelessness | 1,968 | Top 5 funders |
| Basic needs & anti-poverty | 1,829 | Top 5 funders |
| Animal welfare | 1,573 | Top 5 funders |
| Older adults | 583 | Top 5 funders |
| Disability | 532 | Top 5 funders |
| Immigrants & refugees | 397 | Top 5 funders |
| Jobs & workforce | 357 | Top 5 funders |
Want the funders that fit your organization? Grant Prospect Report, $149
Tell us your mission, county and budget. You get at least 20 ranked funders that give in your service area, ranked by fit with your mission and budget, with each one's contact, deadlines and application rules as filed with the IRS, plus matching federal opportunities from Grants.gov. PDF by email within 2 business days of payment and a complete order form.
Order a Prospect Report for Washington ($149) See a full sampleSource: grant lists on IRS Form 990-PF (private foundations) and Form 990 Schedule I (grantmaking public charities) from the IRS e-file releases of 2024 to 2026, tax years 2021–2025, one filing per funder and tax year. Filings are often one to two years old, and a past grant doesn't mean a funder will accept your application or fund you. CivicVane is not affiliated with any funder listed.